One of the goals of the Arqus European University Alliance is to develop joint programmes at all levels based on the results of the previous project period and on bottom-up proposals from partner universities. In Arqus I, 3 Joint MA programmes were successfully implemented as pilot projects. This project will therefore build on the findings of Arqus I.
One call was launched for Joint programmes development in Spring, 2024 (https://arqus-alliance.eu/call/implementation-of-joint-programmes/).
Proposals were approved by Arqus Education Board and Rectors during the Annual Conference in Braga. 5 MA proposals and 2 BA proposals were approved for funding. All programmes shall also contribute to the implementation of the European degree (label).
It is planned to support all programmes with workshops and the WG6 team is currently holding advanced workshops on different topics relevant to Joint Programme development. The prepared joint programmes will be submitted for evaluation and accreditation to an Accreditation Agency using the European Approach (EA). Using the EA is considered to be a good practice ensuring that all the criteria for the organisation of a joint programme are met. The developed programmes should, in addition to the criteria of the EA, also take into account the following criteria of the future Arqus Label to be developed within the project: interdisciplinarity, multilingualism, innovative teaching and learning complements, flexible mobility pathways. Around 500 students/ learners are expected to be enrolled into Arqus joint programmes.